Insulated Concrete Form Blocks

ABSTRACT

An insulated concrete form block includes front and rear wall portions, left and right end walls extending between the front and rear wall portions, spacer ribs positioned to extend between the front and rear wall portions in a spaced-apart relation to define apertures therebetween.

This present application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/714,114, filed Sep. 2, 2005, which application is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to poured concrete walls and particularly to forms for poured concrete walls. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to insulated concrete form blocks.

SUMMARY

An insulated concrete form block in accordance with the present disclosure includes front and rear wall portions, left and right end walls extending between the front and rear wall portions, and spacer ribs positioned to extend between the front and rear wall portions in a spaced-apart relation to form apertures for receiving concrete therebetween. In the illustrative embodiments, means is provided on the front and rear wall portions to interconnect adjacent insulated concrete form blocks to form a unitary structure to receive a curable construction material to form a “skeleton” within the assembly of insulated concrete form blocks.

In illustrative embodiments, first and second connector units are positioned to lie on upper and lower surfaces of the front and rear wall portions. First connector units are sized and arranged to receive companion second connector units formed on adjacent insulated concrete form blocks to interconnect layers of insulated concrete form blocks being assembled. Male and female end connectors are positioned to lie on ends of the front and rear wall portions. Female end connectors are sized and arranged to receive companion male end connectors formed on adjacent insulated concrete form blocks to interconnect blocks in an end-to-end relation to one another.

Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded assembly view of insulated concrete form blocks in accordance with the present disclosure showing an upper and two lower insulated concrete form blocks coming together to form a portion of a wall as shown assembled in FIG. 2, the lower blocks arranged to be anchored to a foundation and both upper and lower blocks formed to include parallel rows of connector units on a top and a bottom surface of each block to interconnect adjacent upper and lower insulated concrete form blocks, each block includes a pair of male end connectors on each right end and is formed to include a pair of female end connectors in each left end to interconnect adjacent insulated concrete form blocks in an end-to-end relation (as shown in FIGS. 2-4);

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled insulated concrete form blocks of FIG. 1, with portions broken away, showing the insulated concrete form blocks anchored to the foundation;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing the assembly of blocks being filled with a curable structural material, for example, like cement;

FIG. 4 is a is a sectional view of the assembly of insulated concrete form blocks taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3, with portions broken away, showing the connector units of the upper block mated with the companion connector units of the lower blocks;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the upper insulated concrete form block of FIG. 4, with portions broken away, showing a front wall portion having a textured surface, upper and lower connector units including male connectors extending away from the upper and lower surfaces of the front wall portion;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the insulated concrete form block of FIG. 5 showing front and rear wall portions, left and right end walls extending between the front and rear wall portions, five spacer ribs extending between the front and rear wall portions and positioned to lie between the first and the second end walls, the apertures formed between the spacer ribs, and the parallel rows of connector units extending along the front and rear wall portions, a first connector unit having a female connector formed between a pair of male connectors extending away from the wall surface to interconnect with a companion series of second connector units formed on an adjacent insulated concrete form block, each second connector unit formed to include a single male connector extending away from the wall surface between a pair of female connectors to be coupled to a companion series of first connector units formed on the adjacent insulated concrete form block to interconnect the upper and lower layers of blocks, the pair of male end connectors extending vertically along and away from the right end wall and the pair of female end connectors extending vertically along the left end wall;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6 showing upper and lower concave portions of one of the spacer ribs;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6 showing the spacer ribs, apertures for receiving concrete, and upper and lower connector units;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an insulated concrete form block in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure having seven spacer ribs rather than the five spacer ribs of the insulated concrete form block of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an insulated concrete form block in accordance with still another embodiment of the present disclosure showing a corner form of the insulated concrete form block having a 90-degree turn portion;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an insulated concrete form block in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure showing the insulated concrete form block having a façade mount coupled to the rear wall portion, the façade mount and the rear wall portion forming a channel therebetween; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11 showing the façade mount supporting bricks (in phantom) extending upwardly from the façade mount.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An insulated concrete form block 10 includes a front wall portion 12, a rear wall portion 14, a left end wall 16, a right end wall 18, spacer ribs 20, male end connectors 22, female end connectors 24, and first and second connector units 26, 28, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 1-3. A number of insulated concrete form blocks 10 can be assembled, as suggested in FIG. 1, to form a wall structure as shown in FIG. 2. Once assembled, a user can pour a curable construction material 30 into the insulated concrete form blocks, such as concrete 30, as suggested in FIGS. 3 and 4, to form a rigid “skeleton” therewithin.

As shown best in FIGS. 1 and 6, front wall portion 12 is positioned to lie in a spaced-apart relation to rear wall portion 14. Left and right end walls 16, 18 are positioned to lie in a spaced-apart relation to one another and extend between front and rear wall portions 12, 14. Front and rear wall portions 12, 14 and left and right end walls 16, 18 cooperate to define a rectangular-shaped block 10. Spacer ribs 20 extend between front and rear walls 12, 14. Illustratively, each insulated concrete form block 10 includes five spacer ribs 20. Spacer ribs 20 and end walls 16, 18 cooperate to define apertures 32 for receiving concrete therein.

Illustratively, each insulated concrete form block 10 includes six apertures 32. Apertures 32 are configured to receive uncured concrete 30, as shown best in FIG. 3. When a user has coupled a suitable number of insulated concrete form blocks 10 together to form a desired structure, uncured concrete 30 is poured into an uppermost layer of insulated concrete form blocks 10 and through gravitational force, the concrete infiltrates throughout the plurality of defined apertures to create a “skeletal” structure therein.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 6, front wall portion 12 forms an interior-facing wall surface in an assembled structure and includes a surface 34 constructed of a material suitable for presentation as a “finished” wall surface such as, for example, dry wall. In the illustrative embodiment, each front wall portion 12 includes four second connector units 28 positioned to lie in a spaced-apart end-to-end relation extending along an upper surface 36 of front wall portion 12 and four first connector units 26 positioned to lie in a spaced-apart end-to-end relation extending along a lower surface 42 of front wall portion 12.

Each first connector unit 26 includes a single female connector 40 extending between a pair of male connectors 38 being configured to extend away from an associated surface. Each second connector unit 28 includes a single male connector 38 extending away from an associated surface between a pair of female connectors 40. As suggested in FIG. 1, first connector units 26 are configured to mate with companion second connector units 28 of adjacent blocks 10 upon assembly of insulated concrete form blocks 10 to build, for example, a wall structure.

Rear wall portion 14 forms an exterior wall surface (not shown) in the assembled structure shown in FIG. 2. In the illustrative embodiment, each rear wall portion 14 includes four first connector units 26 positioned to lie in a spaced-apart end-to-end relation extending along an upper surface 44 of rear wall portion 14 and four second connector units 28 positioned to lie in a spaced-apart end-to-end relation extending along a lower surface 46 of rear wall portion 14.

Front and rear wall portions 12, 14 further include right ends 48, 50 and left ends 52, 54, as shown in FIG. 6. Each right end 48, 50 is formed to include one male end connector 22 as shown best in FIGS. 1 and 6. The male end connector 22 extends along the length of and away from each right end 48, 50. Thus, male end connectors 22 are positioned to lie in a parallel spaced-apart relation to one another. Each left end 52, 54 is formed to include one female end connector 24 sized and arranged to receive one of the companion male end connectors 22 formed on adjacent insulated concrete form blocks 10 when the blocks 10 are assembled into a wall structure.

Referring now to FIG. 4, male end connectors 22 and female end connectors 24 allow the user to interconnect adjacent blocks in an end-to-end relationship to one another. First connector units 26 and second connector units 28 allow the user to interconnect adjacent layers of insulated concrete form blocks 10 on top of each other. Thus, male end connectors 22, female end connectors 24, first connector units 26, and second connector units 28 allow the user to interconnect insulated concrete form blocks 10 to form a wall-like structure. Referring now to FIG. 2, a first layer 56 of blocks 10 is adapted to be coupled to an anchor 60 between a substructure or foundation 58 to form a base layer 56. Additional layers are added to base layer 56 as required by the user to construct a desired structure.

As such, each block 10 includes connecting means to interconnect with another adjacent block. For example, illustrative connecting means includes first and second connector units 26, 28 are positioned to lie on upper and lower surfaces of the front and rear wall portions 12, 14. First connector units 26 are sized and arranged to receive companion second connector units 28 formed on adjacent insulated concrete form blocks 10 to interconnect layers of insulated concrete form blocks 10 being assembled. Male end connectors 22 and female end connectors 24 are positioned to lie on right ends 48, 50 and left ends 52, 54, respectively, of the front and rear wall portions 12, 14. Female end connectors 24 are sized and arranged to receive companion male end connectors 22 formed on adjacent insulated concrete form blocks 10 to interconnect blocks 10 in an end-to-end relation to one another.

In a second embodiment contemplated by this disclosure, an insulated concrete form block 110 is provided as shown in FIG. 9. Insulated concrete form block 110 is similar to insulated concrete form block 10 in structure and function, so that the description of similar components of insulated concrete form block 10 applies to insulated concrete form block 110 as well. Illustratively, insulated concrete form block 110 includes seven spacer ribs 120. In the illustrative embodiment, spacer ribs 120 and left and right end walls 16, 18 cooperate to define eight apertures 132.

In a third embodiment contemplated by this disclosure, a corner block 210 is provided, as suggested in FIG. 10. Comer block 210 is similar to insulated concrete form block 10 in structure and function, so that the description of like components of insulated concrete form block 10 applies to corner block 210 as well. Illustratively, corner block 210 includes the front wall portion 12 having a first front segment 212 and a second front segment 212′ perpendicular to first front segment 212, and the rear wall portion 14 includes a first rear segment 214 parallel to the first front segment 212 and a second rear segment 214′ perpendicular to first rear segment 214 and parallel to the second front segment 212′ such that second front segment 212′ and second rear segment 214′ cooperate to define a 90°-turn portion 213 of the corner block 210. Comer block 210 may be arranged having 90°-turn portions 213 coupled to either end and in either direction to allow the user to create a variety of 90° turns in the wall arrangement.

In still another embodiment contemplated by this disclosure, an insulated concrete form block 310 is provided as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. Insulated concrete form block 310 includes a façade mount 315 coupled to a rear wall portion 314. Illustrative spacer ribs 320 cooperating to define apertures 332. Facade mount 315 includes a generally Z-shaped angled wall portion 313 coupled to rear wall portion 314. Angled wall portion 313 and rear wall portion 314 cooperate to form a U-shaped channel 311 therebetween. Illustratively, channel 311 acts as a “weep hole” to aid in the removal of undesired water. Façade mount 315 provides the user with a base to mount a facial surface 317 to a formed exterior wall surface such as, for example, masonry brick as suggested in FIG. 12. Insulated concrete form block 310 is used to create the base layer 56 so that the facial surface 317 can be supported while being mounted to the exterior wall surface. 

1. An insulated concrete form block comprising: a front wall portion and a rear wall portion spaced apart from the front wall portion, the front wall portion and the rear wall portion each having an upper surface, a lower surface, a left end, and a right end, a left end wall and a right end wall each extending between the front wall portion and the rear wall portion, a plurality of spacer ribs extending between the front and rear wall portions, each of the plurality of spacer ribs being spaced apart from each other to define apertures adapted to receive concrete therebetween, and connecting means integral with the front and rear wall portions and left and right ends for connecting adjacent insulated concrete form blocks to form a unitary structure.
 2. The insulated concrete form block of claim 1, wherein the connecting means includes: a first connector unit and a second connector unit, the first connector unit being formed to include a female connector positioned between a pair of male connectors and the second connector unit being formed to include a male connector positioned between a pair of female connectors and configured to receive another pair of male connectors from an adjacent insulated concrete form block, and a male end connector coupled to the right end wall and a female end connector integral with the left end wall.
 3. The insulated concrete form block of claim 2, wherein the upper surface of the front wall portion is formed to include the second connector unit, the lower surface of the front wall portion is formed to include the first connector unit.
 4. The insulated concrete form block of claim 2, wherein the upper surface of the rear wall portion is formed to include the first connector unit, the lower surface of the rear wall portion is formed to include the second connector unit.
 5. The insulated concrete form block of claim 1, wherein the connecting means includes a first plurality of first connector units positioned on the upper surface of the rear wall portion, a second plurality of first connector units positioned on the lower surface of the front wall portion, a first plurality of second connector units positioned on the upper surface of the front wall portion, and a second plurality of second connector units positioned on the lower surface of the rear wall portion.
 6. The insulated concrete form block of claim 5, wherein each of the first connector units from the first and second pluralities of first connector units includes a female connector positioned between two male connectors and each of the second connector units from the first and second pluralities of second connector units includes a male connector positioned between a pair of female connectors configured to receive another pair of male connectors from an adjacent insulated concrete form block.
 7. The insulated concrete form block of claim 1, wherein the apertures formed between the spacer ribs are generally hourglass-shaped.
 8. The insulated concrete form block of claim 1, further comprising a façade mount configured to support a facial surface, wherein the façade mount includes an angled wall portion coupled to the rear wall portion to define a channel therebetween.
 9. The insulated concrete form block of claim 1, wherein the front wall portion includes a first front segment and a second front segment perpendicular to the first front segment, and the rear wall portion includes a first rear segment parallel to the first front segment and a second rear segment perpendicular to the first rear segment and parallel to the second front segment such that the second front segment and the second rear segment cooperate to define a 90°-turn portion of the insulated concrete form block
 10. An insulated concrete form block comprising: a front wall portion, a rear wall portion spaced apart from the front wall portion, and a plurality of spacer ribs extending between the front and rear wall portions, each front wall portion and each rear wall portion having an upper surface, a lower surface, a left end, and a right end, a male end connector coupled to each right end and a female end connector coupled to each left end, each male end connector configured to extend into a female end connector of an adjacent insulated concrete form block, and a pair of first connector units and a pair of second connector units, wherein one of the pair of first connector units is coupled to the upper surface of the rear wall and the other pair of first connector units is coupled to the lower surface of the front wall, and wherein one of the pair of second connector units is coupled to the lower surface of the rear wall and the other pair of second connector units is coupled to the upper surface of the front wall a first plurality of first connector units positioned on the upper surface of the rear wall portion, a second plurality of first connector units positioned on the lower surface of the front wall portion, a first plurality of second connector units positioned on the upper surface of the front wall portion, and a second plurality of second connector units positioned on the lower surface of the rear wall portion.
 11. The insulated concrete form block of claim 10, wherein the first plurality of first connector units is configured to mate with a second plurality of second connector units of an adjacent insulated concrete form block and the second plurality of first connector units is configured to mate with a first plurality of second connector units of an adjacent insulated concrete form block.
 12. The insulated concrete form block of claim 10, further comprising a façade mount configured to support a facial surface, wherein the façade mount includes an angled wall portion coupled to and spaced apart from the rear wall portion to define a channel therebetween.
 13. The insulated concrete form block of claim 10, wherein the front wall portion includes a first front segment, and a second front segment perpendicular to the first front segment, and the rear wall portion includes a first rear segment parallel to the first front segment and a second rear segment perpendicular to the first rear segment and parallel to the second front segment such that the second front segment and the second rear segment cooperate to define a 90°-turn portion of the insulated concrete form block
 14. The insulated concrete form block of claim 10, wherein the adjacent spacer ribs cooperate to define a generally hourglass-shaped aperture therebetween.
 15. An insulated concrete form block comprising: a front wall and a rear wall spaced apart from the front wall, each front wall and each rear wall having an upper surface, a lower surface, a right end, and a left end, and a plurality of ribs extending between the front wall and the rear wall to define apertures adapted for receiving concrete therein, and a first plurality of first connector units coupled to the rear wall upper surface, a second plurality of first connector units coupled to the front wall lower surface, a first plurality of second connector units coupled to the front wall upper surface, a second plurality of second connector units coupled to the rear wall lower surface, wherein the front wall further includes a first front segment, a second front segment perpendicular to the first front segment, and the rear wall portion including a first rear segment parallel to the first front segment and a second rear segment perpendicular to the first rear segment and parallel to the second front segment such that the second front segment and the second rear segment cooperate to define a 90°-turn portion.
 16. The insulated concrete form block of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of first connector units is configured to mate with a second connector unit formed on a first adjacent insulated concrete form block and the male end connector is configured to mate with a female end connector formed on a second adjacent insulated concrete form block.
 17. The insulated concrete form block of claim 16, further comprising a façade mount configured to support a facial surface, wherein the façade mount includes a generally Z-shaped angled wall portion coupled parallel to and spaced apart from the rear wall portion.
 18. The insulated concrete form block of claim 17, wherein the generally Z-shaped angled wall portion and the rear wall portion cooperate to define a channel therebetween.
 19. The insulated concrete form block of claim 15, wherein: each of the first connector units includes a pair of rectangular tabs spaced apart from one another and extending away from the respective upper or lower mounting surface and a rectangular aperture formed in the respective upper or lower mounting surface and longitudinally positioned between the pair of rectangular tabs, and each of the second connector units includes a pair of rectangular apertures formed in the respective upper or lower mounting surface and spaced apart from one another, and a rectangular tab longitudinally positioned between the pair of rectangular apertures.
 20. The insulated concrete form block of claim 15, wherein the plurality of ribs cooperate to define a generally hourglass-shaped aperture therebetween. 